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Global inflation should be viewed more as a sympton of social problems than as an economic disease that can be cured by monetary and fiscal policy. Social problems signaled by inflation include exploding demand, rising costs for essential commodities, stagnating productivity, and a decline in the real standard of living. Inflation is interpreted as an increase in the overall level of nominal prices in the whole economy. It is significant to note, however, that crucial determinants of well being are often more closely related to prices of particular goods and services than to changes in the general price level. Circumstances which have contributed to global inflation include rising energy prices, increased government spending, increased money supplies, and lack of wage and price controls in capitalist nations. New sources of higher prices include increasing energy and food production costs, depleted resources, and a dearth of tillable land. Governments will make progress toward controlling global inflation if they aim economic policies toward increasing supply and reducing demand, stabilizing population, encouraging conservation and recycling, changing working conditions to boost productivity, increasing opportunities for competition, and striving to provide for basic human needs in a setting of economic stability. (DB)

This issue paper presents three very different views of the roles that government, job training, and economic development programs play within society. The paper is meant to stimulate discussion among training and employment and community and economic development professionals; it focuses on job retention and emphasizes the role of counties in the future economic development of the United States. The sections of the paper and authors are as follows: Introduction (Clifton Thomas, Jr., Director, Heartland Private Industry Council, Florida); "Workers, Local Government and the Jobs of Tomorrow" (Jeffrey Finkle, Executive Director, Council for Urban Economic Development, District of Columbia); "Economic Growth, Business and Jobs" (Rona Feit, Senior Fellow, Corporation for Enterprise Development, District of Columbia); and "A Broader Role for Job Training and Economic Development Programs" (James Finamore, Director of Job Training, Town of Tonawanda, New York). (KC)

Written in the first quarter of 1980, this paper describes economic conditions at that time and makes projections concerning the future. The paper attempts to present a brief look at the same issues surveyed in the longer report EA 013 118. After warning that economic conditions are hard to assess and still harder to predict, the author asserts that most forecasters agree on one issue: the inevitability of a serious and year-long recession. He cites as evidence President Carter's attempt at austerity measures summed up by the proposal to chop $13 billion from the federal budget and efforts by the Federal Reserve Board to cut inflation by raising interest rates on borrowing. He notes that the housing market, a good predictor of the health of the overall economy, is already in a depressed state. The author adds that nowhere does the potential for lasting damage from inflation manifest itself more vividly than in the country's classrooms. (Author/JM)

Recent resistance to government spending and federal interference has reduced the federal role in education to less than the minimum appropriate level. Opportunities to change this situation presently exist, but will disappear with time. Trends in economics, technology, demographics, the philosophy of government, and changing cultural values and beliefs indicate that the 1980s will be a period of substantial uncertainty in America, necessitating social flexibility and high productivity. Changes in education are vital to encourage this productivity and flexibility. A revision of current federal educational goals is necessary, but will be insufficient without the creation of a new role for the federal government in education. Defining this new role as the coordination of the production and distribution of knowledge will provide the necessary overarching scope to federal efforts. These efforts can then be readily coordinated through a central agency such as the new Department of Education. (Author/PGD)

The economic role of counties is changing profoundly because of a revolutionary restructuring of the world economy and related changes in federalism. Three major forces are restructuring the economy: overcapacity in traditional industries, the emergence of new technologies that are creating new service and knowledge-based industries and transforming old industries, and globalization in production and technology. These forces are transforming the economic role of federal, state, and local governments in the following ways: (1) the United States' economic dominance in the world has lessened; (2) the federal government's traditional macroeconomic tools of fiscal and monetary policy are not as effective in guiding national economic performance in an interdependent world economy; (3) the ability of the federal government to shape the country's economic future is constrained by huge budget and trade deficits; and (4) states and localities will have greater responsibility and greater opportunity to shape their own economies in a competitive world. As geographical building blocks of the new political economy, counties should build the foundations for economic vitality in the new economy; strengthen the process of economic development; develop the regional economy; advocate sound economic policy at the state and federal levels; strengthen management to become proactive in managing events; and confront the key political choices that will affect the country's economic future. (KC)

The four articles in this journal issue examine the pros and cons of the proposition that credit card rates are too high. In "How Congress and Consumers Will Crack the Credit Card Market," Congressman Charles E. Schumer argues that banks can get away with their excessive rates because of consumer misinformation and the unfair competitive edge held by the larger banks that set the tone for the high rates. He therefore recommends the passage of legislation that would require credit card companies to make a full disclosure of their charges before the consumer obtains a card (rather than after as is currently allowed). In "Bank Credit Cards: An Important Financial Option," Jerry D. Craft makes the case that bank card rates are service rates rather than interest rates and that credit cards have high administrative costs, are affected by fraud, and are actually one of the most competitive products in the United States. Elgie Holstein, in an article entitled "Bank Credit Cards: Defying Economic Gravity," contends that although bank credit cards are the single most profitable area of banking today, credit card price controls would hurt consumers. Holstein suggests a "floating" ceiling on credit card interest rates as a compromise. In "Retail Credit Card Rates: Reality vs. Rhetoric," Tracy Mullin distinguishes between retail and bank credit card plans, argues that revenues from retail credit cards are reasonable, and reaffirms Holstein's view that interest rate caps would not help consumers. (MN)

Competitiveness is a function of a nation's resources and how effectively those resources are used relative to that nation's competitors. The people of a nation, with their knowledge, skills, and attitudes, determine how effectively technology, capital, and trade will be used to the nation's competitive advantage. The competitive challenge to the human resources of the United States requires that the nation recognize its strengths and make them stronger, recognize its weaknesses and act together to address them. A crucial weakness that impedes the country's ability to address these and other competitiveness problems is the lack of structures through which the key economic actors in U.S. society--industry, labor, and government--can come together and systematically address the problems shared by all. To confront this systemic problem, the Commission on Industrial Competitiveness recommends that the federal advisory committees affiliated with the Departments of Commerce, Labor, and Treasury, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative be evaluated and revised to serve as a possible basis for the development of such consensus-building structures. Three other areas are pivotal to addressing the competitive challenge to U.S. human resources: (1) the quality of human resources must be enhanced; (2) the rapid redeployment of labor in the economy must be made possible; and (3) the most effective use of human resources must be made. (Author/KC)

According to an analysis by the AFL-CIO, unemployment is still a problem 4 years after the end of the last recession. Since that time, although employment is up, many jobs lack adequate pay and benefits and many jobs are insecure. In addition, 7.7 million people are still jobless, compared to fewer than 3 million in the 1960s. In addition, the official employment rate understates the extent of unemployment and underemployment. Unemployment is highest for inner-city residents, teens, blacks, and Hispanics. Job quality is also declining, with poorly paid service jobs replacing better-paid manufacturing jobs and temporary and part-time work becoming increasingly common. About 1.5 million workers are dislocated each year. Despite the rise in jobs, workers have not shared in the wealth they help create. Top officials of corporations have seen soaring pay increases whereas worker pay has been held down. Average weekly earnings at the end of 1994 were 12 percent below the 1979 level, in dollars adjusted for inflation. Despite 4 years of economic expansion, unemployment is still a problem and many groups have been left behind. According to the AFL-CIO, a number of measures should be taken to reduce unemployment, such as job training and assistance for workers dislocated by plant closings. (KC)

Food production plays a central role in every national economy. In the United States, the family farm system of agriculture has added special symbolic weight to this economic role. The national debate over appropriate agricultural policies now includes more interested parties than ever before. Environmentalists, consumer advocates, taxpayers, farmers, and agribusinesses all claim a stake in determining who benefits from and who pays for government farm programs. This publication explores the U.S. agricultural economy and its relationship to government policies, the public's environmental concerns and consumer interests. How to mesh farm sector health with other important national goals is a key question for the 1990s and beyond. Topics discussed include: (1) "U.S. Agricultural Policy"; (2) "The Human Dimension"; (3) "The Environmental Dimension"; (4) "Looking Toward the Future"; and, of specific interest to educators, (5) "Citizen Education in Your Community." A list of "Citizen Activity Guidelines" and a list of resources (publications and organizations) are appended. (CW)

A challenge on the survival of capitalism and its future is set forth in this document. Although industrial capitalism is strong, five dangers that threaten its survival are cited: (1) the collectivist bias of Western intellectuals; (2) the influence of the ecological apocalyptics; (3) the assault on the market by big government; (4) the undermining of productivity by trade unions, and (5) the totalitarian (primarily Soviet) threat from outside the country. Twelve people from various professions and perspectives responded to the challenge: an oil executive, a political scientist, a banker, a political columnist, a labor union official, a professor of theology, a former U.S. Senator, a journalist, a Black liberation theologian, an international lawyer, a U.S. Congreeman, and the direction of the Hudson Institute. The challenge brings forth the question of the survival of capitalism as well as its varying forms. The contributors address that question as well as the question of capitalism as a moral issue. (APG)

Technology may be thought of as an extroverted activity involving a search for workable solutions to problems. The output of technology tends to take the form of a tangible product or service. Science, by contrast, is generally introverted, studying problems that are usually generated internally. As technology has become increasingly sophisticated, it has become increasingly dependent on the findings and processes of science. Markets are the basic institutional framework within which new technologies are evaluated. Long-term economic growth relies on the performance of new technologies within this framework. This volume presents chapters by engineers and economists in the hope that the exchange between these groups would lead to a better understanding of the conditions under which technological innovation can be made to function more effectively in the generation of economic growth. The 41 essays included here are organized under the following topics: (1) "Technology and the Dynamics of Economic Growth"; (2) "Policy, Law, Science, and Education: The Framework of Technological Change"; (3) "The Economics of Innovation"; (4) "The Organization of Technological Advance: Entrepreneurship and the Management of Innovation"; (5) "Financing Innovation"; and (6) "Technology and International Economic Competition." The roles of universities, industries, and governmental agencies are considered. (CW)

This volume pulls together commentaries on Charles E. Lindblom's book entitled "Politics and Markets: The World's Political-Economic Systems" (1977) which expounds the thesis that big business dominates American culture and politics and prevents the introduction of central planning in place of a market-oriented economy. Following an introduction, this collection of essays is organized into two parts. Part 1 contains arguments against the book's thesis in these six essays: "Pluralism Reconsidered" by Eugene Bardach; "An Alarmist View of Corporate Influence" by Royall Brandis; "How Powerful is Business?" by Ithiel de Sola Pool; "Democracy and the Corporation" by James Q. Wilson; "Business, Government, the Public: Who Manipulates Whom?" by Paul J. Halpern; and "The Servility of Business" by Clarence J. Brown. Part 2 contains an essay by David Stockman entitled "How the Market Outwits the Planners" which is a rebuttal of Lindblom's claim that natural resources will be depleted in an economy based on production-for-profit. (KW)